DOJ Indicts Two Found With 13,000 Counterfeit Pills Made of Imported Fentanyl from China

September 24, 2018

The Daily Herald in Snohomish County, Washington reported on the seizure of about 10,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills made with fentanyl from a home in the Arlington area and the arrest of two men. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the names of the individuals arrested are Bradley Woolard of Arlington and Griffin Thompson of Bellingham. According to the Complaint for Violation, Woolard became a person of interest after a vehicle driven by a suspect of a separate drug investigation, Griffin Thompson, was observed briefly stopping by Woolard’s house on July 27, 2018.

A search of Thompson’s vehicle later that evening turned up three plastic bags each containing 1,000 “light colored pills marked ‘M30.’” The following day, agents executed a search warrant on Woolard’s house and seized approximately 10,000 matching pills and $400,000. Three of the pills were sent to a certified laboratory and came back positive for furanyl fentanyl. In a trash can, agents found a largely intact shipping label which listed the contents of the package as “Lab supplies” and listed a sending address in China. Two additional searches of Woolard’s home in August brought the total amount of cash seized at the property to over $1 million and a total of 33 guns.

Agents arrested Thompson in Washington state, but Woolard was arrested on September 1 as he attempted to enter into the U.S. from Mexico. He is currently in custody in San Diego, but will likely be transferred so he can make an appearance in the Western District of Washington later this month. According to the Indictment, Thompson and Woolard each are charged with one-count conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one-count possession of furanyl fentanyl with intent to distribute. Woolard faces an additional count of possession of furanyl fentanyl with intent to distribute and two charges related to the guns.

U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes said, “Fentanyl is an incredibly potent and dangerous drug that has been linked to overdose deaths across the country. To make matters worse, the fentanyl, in this case, has been pressed into pills meant to look like the prescription drug oxycodone. Along with all the usual and terrible risks associated with illegal drugs, these pose the added problem of appearing to be one thing – oxycodone – when they are something altogether different, and even more dangerous.” This case was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation, which was led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance from the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force and the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kat Vaughan and Karyn Johnson will prosecute the case.